When You Weren't Watching
by A Love Affair
Summary: He was supposed to be submissive. He was supposed to be obedient. He was supposed to be the Dark Lord’s youngest son. He was supposed to be dead. Harry centric and slash.
1. prologue

**Six Years Ago**

**Riddle Manor**

He crouched behind a bloodied suit of armour, his rotund form squeezed against the cold stone wall of the hallway. His beady eyes were fixed upon the relaxed form of Lucius Malfoy who was leaning against wall next to a large, moving portrait of Salazar Slytherin, flicking idly through an old yellow-paged tomb. As quickly as he dared, Peter Pettigrew withdrew from his hiding place, careful not to make any noise, and crept towards the other man.

"I know you're there, Pettigrew" Lucius said, not looking up from his book.

Peter stopped, frozen like a deer caught in a car's headlights.

"I've been given orders to kill you, you know?" Lucius asked conversationally, still absorbed in his book, "One should know better than to creep about the manor of the Dark Lord after swearing one's allegiance to the light, Pettigrew. I've heard that such actions can lead to disastrous consequences." Lucius stopped to look at the man. "Then again, you've never been known for your brains have you?"

Peter could not answer. Instead, he stared at the blonde haired man unblinkingly, trembling with such vigour that he could feel his several chins wobbling independently of each other.

"Disgusting creature" Lucius observed, lip curling in disdain as he noticed the rivets of sweat running down the face of the man who, rather disturbingly, resembled an overgrown, furless rat.

"P-p-please Lucius!" Peter gasped, struggling to breathe as his anxiety took over his body, denying him air. "Please! You don't want to kill me! I'll do anything! I'll, I'll be your servant! I-I could be your spy! I could help you! You don't want to kill me!"

"Don't you dare presume to know what I do or do not want! You're pathetic Pettigrew! Always clinging to the nearest wizard for protection and favour. Too weak to stand up for yourself. Willing to betray your so called friends to save your miserable excuse for a hide. It's idiots like you that give purebloods a bad name. I shall enjoy killing you, Pettigrew. I shall enjoy it very much."

With wide eyes Peter watched as Lucius flung the book to the side uncaringly where it flew towards the wall but disappeared before it could collide. Peter's eyes flicked back to Lucius quickly, his face aghast with awe and fear at the man's indifferent use of wandless and wordless magic.

Advancing slowly, Lucius drew his wand and pointed it at Peter who had regained the use of his limbs and was scrambling backwards.

"There's no use running Peter! You've no where to go. Nowhere to hide." Lucius smiled sadistically, drawing his arm back in order to cast a spell.

Peter curled into himself, huddling on the ground covering his face with his arm in a useless attempt to shield himself.

"Avada Kedav-"

"Stupefy!" Peter shrieked, having sneakily withdrawn his wand whilst cowering on the ground.

A huge crash resounded throughout the corridor as Lucius was thrown backwards into the portrait behind him and…made a hole in the _concrete_ wall?

Peter frowned. The strength of his spell had not been great enough to send a body hurtling stone and concrete. Peter crept forward slowly, keeping his wand raised in case Lucius was still conscious. 'Doubtful', Peter thought smugly. Cautiously, Peter poked his head through the hole and examined the space beyond.

It was a room, Peter decided. But more than a room, as there were several doors lining the large stretch of wall that Peter suspected led to more rooms.

Peter stepped through the portrait hole daintily, careful to grind his foot into the unconscious Lucius' hand, who was draped half in and half out of the huge gaping hole in the wall.

The room, Peter noted, was probably a lounge of some kind. It was elegantly decorated with expensive looking couches and one of the largest fireplaces Peter had ever seen. One wall was lined with bookcases and what looked like thousands of books. Having never been interested in reading Peter continued his inspections elsewhere.

One wall was covered with paintings. Several of which were of wriggling, hissing snakes as was to be expected in the house which once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. However, it was the large portrait hanging above the marble mantelpiece that caught Peter's eye.

It was obviously a family portrait. There were three of them, the man, probably the father, was standing imposingly behind the two boys, one almost a teenager and the other much younger. Just like every pureblood family portrait, none of them were smiling.

Pettigrew grew closer to the fireplace to inspect the painting a little more. All three had jet black hair, the older two had theirs long, at least to their shoulders, whilst the youngest had his shorter and more curly.

Peter's attention was drawn to the father's hand that clutched the shoulder of his supposed older son. On the index finger sat a ring. Peter squinted and leaned towards the picture even more, struggling with his bad eyesight to make out the ring's details.

When Peter finally saw the ring clearly his heart stopped. His breath became short and the blood drained from his face.

The ring was adorned with the emblem of a snake.

Peter scurried back from the painting hurriedly and stared at its occupant's faces once more. The man and the older son- he recognized them. The man's face was less lined with age and less intimidating whilst the almost-teenager had grown dramatically but Peter was sure he knew what he saw and those piercing emerald eyes were further evidence.

It was a family portrait of Lord Voldemort and his son, Salazar Marvolo the well known and much feared heir to the Dark throne. He was standing in the _Dark Lord's_ private quarters. And stupidly, Peter Pettigrew was pleased.

Whilst any normal person would have considered turning and running for their lives, Peter did not even think to consider the fact that Lord Voldemort would most certainly have wards surrounding his home to alert him if there were intruders.

No, Peter was too busy cackling internally with glee at the knowledge that he had stumbled upon what was probably one of the Dark Lord's greatest secrets.

Lord Voldemort had two sons.

The Dark Lord's eldest, Salazar Marvolo, was well known throughout both the Dark and Light communities. He had first been introduced to his father's Death Eaters at the age of fifteen and had from then on waged a personal war of terror on his father's Light sided enemies. Light wizards and witches feared him while Death Eaters were terrified of him.

However, the youngest son who, in the portrait, was clutching his brother's robes and staring adoringly up at his father before staring ahead stoically, was unheard of. Perhaps he had died or maybe he had run away but, personally, Peter did not care about the fate of the slight looking boy in the picture. All Peter cared about was that he had found his ticket to freedom.

For some time now, Peter had been of the opinion that being dark was rather tedious. Betraying his friends to aid the Dark Lord had not made him very popular amongst the man's forces. Purebloods, however twisted, respected honor and Peter's actions reflected no such thing. Thus, for the last decade, Peter had found himself at the bottom of the Dark side ladder so to speak and was stuck having to perform the most tedious and often unsavory tasks.

Peter, fed up with his lot in life had gone to Dumbledore and had begged him to take him back. The man had hesitantly agreed but had offered his protection only if Pettigrew returned to Voldemort and spied for a short while.

Unfortunately, Peter, who could not be considered the savviest of spies by any means, had been discovered red handed stealing information from the Dark Lord and, prior to his encounter with Lucius Malfoy, had been attempting to escape the Dark Lord's headquarters.

Now Peter felt confident about his return to Dumbledore. With information like this the Light side would have to accept him back. James, Lilly, Sirius and Remus may be a little reluctant at first but Peter was sure that Dumbledore would protect him from them should they take vengeful action!

A slight sneezing noise from behind him distracted Peter from the celebratory parade he was conducting in his head. Peter whirled around, having only just remembered that he was still in dangerous territory and that he should be careful. Peter raised his wand once more, trying to find the source. It had come from the couch but there was no one sitting on it. Peter had the sudden suspicion that he was not alone.

Walking slowly towards the leather couch set, Peter could have sworn he saw a hand appear for only a second before being whipped out of sight again. Yes, someone was hiding under the couch.

Slowly Peter began to lower himself onto his knees.

"PETTIGREW!" A cold, horrible voice thundered behind him. Peter's heart jumped into his throat and he almost soiled himself. Lord Voldemort had arrived and was standing just in front of where the portrait had once been, Lucius still lying behind him.

"M-M-Master!" Peter screeched in shock.

Stupidly, idiotically, moronically, _fatally_ Peter Pettigrew had forgotten whose house he was in, whose personal quarters he had invaded, whose enemy he was. Then and there, Peter knew that he was dead.

"You've gone to far this time Pettigrew!" Voldemort hissed in anger, "I've nothing to say to you! Avada Kedavra!"

The oddly pretty green light careened through the air and hit Peter square in the chest.

Had he still been alive when he hit the ground, Peter Pettigrew would have seen young Harry Potter hiding, eyes wide with fear, under the black leather couch.


	2. Story Time

Thank you to those of you who reviewed! Here's the second chapter! But don't start expecting updates everyday! (I'm extremely slow at typing!).

_The oddly pretty green light careened through the air and hit Peter square in the chest._

_Had he still been alive when he hit the ground, Peter Pettigrew would have seen young Harry Potter hiding, eyes wide with fear, under the black leather couch._

**Six Years Later**

**Riddle Manor **

Alexander Marvolo sat up in bed gasping. The image of the man, name unknown, was imprinted behind his eyelids. When he closed his eyes, Alex could still see the other's wide, brown eyes staring unseeingly at him- the eyes of the dead man who had haunted his dreams for the past six years. The first man he had seen killed.

Shivering, the boy grasped the thick duvet that covered him, dragging it away from him. The boy slowly slid out of the large four poster bed and crept around it to the door.

Brushing his long hair out of the way, Alex pressed his ear to the wooden door gently and listened intently for a few moments. No sounds emerged from the room beyond.

Carefully, with a well practised movement, Alex opened his door slightly, and squeezed through the gap, keeping one hand steadily on the door to stop it from moving and creaking.

Shaking slightly in the cold room, as he was only wearing silk pyjamas, the boy slowly but determinedly crept through the large sitting room with his arms firmly wrapped around himself. The boy gave the black leather couch a wide berth and made his way towards a second door which had 'Salazar' written on it in large cursive script.

Abruptly, Alex froze in place as a loud screeching noise echoed through the closed portrait hole at the other end of the room. Screaming. Walking faster now, Alex reached Salazar's door and entered the room in the same manner he had left his own.

Salazar's room was painted a deep forest green unlike his own which was a light, calming blue. The large room looked rather bare as there were only two things in it; the first a large wardrobe and the second a four poster bed much like his own.

Alex padded towards the bed and, very slowly so as not to disturb its inhabitant, slipped beneath the covers. Gradually, Alex slid closer and closer to the man sleeping beside him until they were touching.

"Mmmm" Salazar groaned as he awakened as always and turned his head to stare blearily at his thirteen year old brother who lay wide awake beside him. "Alex?"

Alex huddled closer to his older brother and, lying on his stomach, buried his face into the crevice between the mattress and his brother's arm. He was still shivering slightly. Salazar shifted and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer so that Alex's head rested in the niche between Salazar's neck and shoulder.

"What are you doing up this late Little One?" Salazar whispered softly in his ear, his deep voice already calming Alex's tremors.

"Someone's screaming again." Alex spoke into his brother's shoulder. Salazar's hand rubbed up and down his back gently.

"I put silencing charms on your door Al. You shouldn't have been able to hear anything unless you were in the sitting room. Tell me why you're still up"

"Nightmare" he whispered, burrowing in deeper towards Salazar.

"Which one?"

"The worst one."

Salazar readjusted his grip on his brother so that Alex lay directly on top of the eighteen year old. "You can sleep here tonight." He said, still rubbing the younger one's back. Salazar's eyes drooped with fatigue and he began to fall back to sleep.

"Sal?"

"Hmmm?"

'Tell me a story."

"Which one?" Salazar asked, eyes still firmly shut.

"I don't know."

"Let me think." Salazar shifted a little to get more comfortable and opened his eyes again. He ran a hand through Alex's hair whilst he stared at the nondescript ceiling trying to remember a story.

"Once there was a young Dementor named Dimitri," He whispered, his voice surprisingly loud in the large room, "who fell in love with a human."

"No! Not that one! Can you tell me the other one?"

"Which one?"

"The one about the baby boy. Please?"

"You always ask me to tell you that one!"

"It's my favourite and I haven't heard it in years" Alex admitted "Please Sal?"

"Okay" He sighed, closing his eyes once more. "Once upon a time there was a little wizard who lived with his mother and father in a little cottage in Godric's Hollow."

"What was his name?" Alex asked, resting his chin on Salazar's chest so that he could watch his brother's face.

"Hmmm?"

"The little wizard. What was his name?"

"Harry. His name was Harry."

"Oh." Alex said, sounding oddly disappointed.

"Can I carry on?" False annoyance littered Salazar's voice.

"Yes" Alex said, smiling slightly.

"Good. As I was saying, there once was a little wizard named Harry and he had green eyes and black hair just like you. His father was named James and he was the greatest auror in all the lands. His mother was named Lilly and she was so good looking that everyone thought she must be a veela, even though she had red hair.

Harry was very lucky for a wizard. He had powerful parents, one of whom was the heir of an extremely rich pureblood family, and he was surrounded by people who loved him. However, his father, who as I said before was a very good auror, got into some trouble. For some reason, the King of a neighbouring country had a personal feud with him.

The King disliked James so much that one night the King crept into James' house with the intention to kill him."

"How'd he get through the wards?"

"What wards?"

"If he was an auror he would have put wards around his house!"

"Oh hush! Stop trying to find holes in my story!"

"Well, he would've!"

"Yes, you're right. James did have wards around his house. He constructed one of the most powerful wards in existence."

"The Falangrious?"

"No, that's a dark spell. James wouldn't use that because he's a light wizard. He used the Fidelius Charm."

"But aren't light wizards bad?"

"No, they're just different from us, that's all."

"But Papa says that all light wizards are evil."

"He's just a little bit disillusioned. But don't tell him I told you that."

"Promise."

"Anyway. The Fidelius Charm was so strong that even Lord Vol- I mean _the King_ couldn't break them. However, they had one major flaw."

"Flaw?" Alex asked excitedly, now wide awake and watching his brother's relaxed face in anticipation.

"Yes, flaw. The way the charm works is that it hides who ever it's cast upon. However, there has to be someone who knows where the person who's hiding is and where to find them otherwise no one would ever be able see that person again because they would always be hidden. The one who knows where they are hiding is called the Secret Keeper because they know the secret of where the person is hiding. Get it?"

Alex gave a small nod.

"Now the funny thing is that the Secret Keeper is the only one who can break the charm. If they share the secret with someone else by telling them where their charge is hiding, that 'someone else' is also able to find them."

"So the Secret Keeper is the flaw?"

"Exactly. In this case, the King found the Secret Keeper and threatened to kill him. James should have chosen a better Secret Keeper because this one betrayed him because of his own cowardice. The Secret Keeper told the King exactly where little Harry and his family was and James, who had no idea that his friend had betrayed him, was completely unprepared for the King's attack."

"What was the Secret Keeper's name?"

"Peter."

"And what was his last name?"

"Petti-something. I can't remember."

"Did he- did he look like a rat?"

Salazar looked at his brother curiously and shrugged before resuming his relaxed seemingly asleep position again.

"Don't know. Never met him. It's just a story Al. Don't take it so seriously."

"Kay" the boy sighed.

"So, once the king had gotten passed the wards he crept through the house trying to find James' bedroom since it was night-time and he was probably asleep."

"Why didn't he use a locator charm?"

"For Merlin's sake Al! Let me tell the story! And he couldn't have because even though he knew the secret, the Fidelius Charm prevents all magic from finding them."

"I'm sorry" said Alex, burying his face into Salazar's chest.

"It's fine." Salazar kissed the top of Alex's head before continuing. "After searching the whole house, he realised that neither Lilly nor James were in the house. Instead, their son Harry was upstairs asleep in his cot and another person, a child minder of some sort, was downstairs in the living room reading. So the King decided that it would be too dangerous to wait for James and his wife to return home so he decided that if he couldn't kill James he would kill Harry instead."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Is it important?"

"Yes," Alex nodded solemnly.

"Go ahead" Salazar sighed as if he had been greatly put upon.

"If Harry was hidden by the Fidelius charm… how did the child minder see him?"

"Good question. I… I don't know. But it's just a story Al it doesn't really matter."

"Sure." Alex agreed however his eyebrows remained scrunched in thought.

"Where was I?"

"The King is going to kill Harry."

"That's right. So the King sneaks into Harry's room and stands over his crib. And Harry who is, of course, an extremely cute little toddler is lying there fast asleep like all little boys should be at this time of night." At that Salazar tapped Alex playfully on the head and grinned. "But the King's thirst for revenge was greater than little Harry's appealing cuteness so the King raised his wand to cast that fatal spell."

"Avada Kedavra" Alex whispered.

"Avada Kedavra" Salazar nodded. "And the green light flew out of the King's wand and hit little Harry on the forehead. But," Salazar lowered his voice to a mere murmur to make his story more dramatic, "Harry didn't die. Instead, the light bounced off him and hit the ceiling making a huge crashing noise."

"What did the minder do?"

"She ran up to Harry's room to see what all of the commotion was. As soon as the King saw her, he fired the killing curse at her too. But the minder wasn't half as powerful as little Harry so she fell to the ground dead. Then, the King did something that would change little Harry's life forever. He picked the boy up and took him home with him."

"Do you think his parents are looking for him?"

"No, because when the King decided that he wanted to have Harry as his son he burnt the crib so that James and Lilly thought their son was dead. Then the King took Harry home with him and made him his son and spoiled him rotten. The end."

"You're horrible at story endings Salazar!"

"I am not! I just needed to finish it quickly because it's way past midnight and you Mister should be fast asleep. So hop to it!"

"Hrmmmmph" Alex sighed annoyed but complied anyway, settling comfortably against Salazar, listening to his brother's heartbeat.

"Salazar?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think Harry will ever see his parents again?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Salazar yawned. Somewhere in the distance a wolf howled.

"Sal?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you-do you think the King was evil for what he did?"

"I don't know. In some ways yes but I think that mainly he was just a very lonely and amoral man."

"Sal?"

"Alex. Just go to sleep."

"But I-"

"Sleep!" Salazar commanded softly.

Once again Alex sighed in annoyance but this time settled down with every intention of going to sleep.

It had become a habit of his to seek comfort from his brother after having a nightmare. Salazar always knew how to calm him and make him feel safe.

Alex particularly liked listening to Salazar's heartbeat as it's steady rhythm always lulled him to sleep. So Alex pressed his ear to his brother's chest and felt his eyes droop involuntarily from tiredness.

Thump. Th-thump. Thump. Th-thump. Thump. Th-

CRASH!

A deafening noise reverberated through the room causing Alex to jump with terror. Salazar acted almost immediately, rolling over so that his body shielded Alex's and pointing something at the doorway from which the shocking noise had come.

"Peace" A melodic yet oddly cold voice said calmly.

Lord Voldemort had swung Salazar's door open and stood in the doorway his black robes contrasting dramatically with the light shining from the sitting room.

Salazar rolled off of Alex and both boys regarded the Dark Lord, their father, with expectation, hearts still beating dramatically after the unpleasant surprise.

"The Order is attacking. Alexander, return to your room and do not open the portrait door for anyone. Salazar… Let's go deal with them."


End file.
